A Voice Like a Belle
by Drajon
Summary: AU in which Ariel is given legs by Rumplestiltskin. The other mermaids say her voice is like a bell, and her voice is exactly what the Dark One wants. But for this magic, the little mermaid might pay a steeper price than she thinks.
1. Chapter 1 - A Voice For Legs

**I**

Ariel sat on the rock, still as a statue, looking across the gently lapping water at the prince's castle. Far away she could just make him out, standing alone on the same balcony as always. Prince Eric was once again staring out to sea, as he had done every day since the shipwreck.

The little mermaid was certain he was looking for something – for someone. For the girl who saved him from drowning. In her many trips to the surface, Ariel had seen many humans look out over the cliffs and admire the endless blue of the sea. But none had stared so much as Eric. No, he wasn't just admiring. He was waiting.

Ariel shifted her tail up onto the rock and looked down at its glistening green scales and powerful fins, which weren't so powerful out of the water. A few thick wet tangles of red hair fell over her eyes, which she lifted out of the way to look back at the prince in his castle.

"What I would give," she sighed, casting her hair out of the way, "to live where you are."

"What indeed, dearie."

She turned around in alarm to see who had spoken.

It was a human. Or half-human, at least. Stood in a small rowing boat that had not been there before, he had a mess of tangled brown hair and sparkling golden scales.

"Who are you?" she asked, pushing her way further up the rock. The man was grinning.

"I am your ticket," he said with a flourish of his hand, "out of the sea. Rumplestiltskin, at your service," he said with a bow. For a man who moved so much, his boat stayed oddly still in the water.

"Rumple – Rumplestiltskin?"

"The very same," he said, still grinning as he straightened up.

Ariel could have sworn she'd heard of a rumplestiltskin. _Isn't that what humans use to put their swords in?_ Then she remembered. _No, that's a scrumplehiltsin._

"And …" she said cautiously, staring at his dark, spiky clothes, "what are you doing here, Rumplestiltskin?"

"Oh wait, not so fast," he said hastily, stepping forward in his boat. "You haven't told me your name yet," he said accusingly, pointing a long sharp finger at her.

"Oh – my name is –"

"I already know your name, dearie," he laughed. "The point is, Ariel, you didn't think to introduce yourself. One might question your upbringing."

For a moment, Ariel was unsure what to say.

"What's wrong? Lost your voice?" he said, and he let out an odd high-pitched giggle.

Ariel took a moment to compose herself.

"How do you know who I am?"

"Well, names are my trade, dearie. And a little fish told me yours. They said you're the most beautiful mermaid under the sea, and that your voice is like a bell … Ariel." He pointed and stared greedily at her throat, before retracting both finger and gaze to sit down.

It was true, Ariel's voice was famous among the merpeople. It was capable of luring any sailor, any human to their demise. Other mermaids, given their hatred of humankind, would have loved such a powerful voice. But Ariel didn't see things the way they did.

"If you know who I am," she said, "then what are you doing here, Rumplestiltskin?"

"I already said, I'm your ticket into the human world. I can give you what you want."

"No one can give me what I want," she said with a sigh, looking down at her tail.

"Except for me. My dear, that's what I do," he said. "What you want is your prince. What you want is to become a human yourself."

Ariel stared at him.

"Can you do that?"

"Of course I can," he giggled. "Why don't we go and talk somewhere less … wet."

He waved his hand, and Ariel's surroundings changed. She was now sat on a much dryer rock, on a narrow beach at the base of a cliff. Eric's castle was just out of view.

"Now," Rumplestiltskin said from behind. Ariel jumped, and he walked into view. "I've heard tell that our maritime prince …" he gestured in the castle's direction, "… has endured quite the storm while at sea. He was miraculously rescued by some mystery maiden, and apparently he's dying to meet her."

Ariel couldn't help but smile.

 _I knew it._

He was waiting for her to come back.

"If I were to transform you into a human," Rumplestiltskin continued, gesturing to her glistening green tail, "you'd be able to be part of that world. You'd be able to get your prince, and live happily ever after. That is what you want, isn't it?"

Ariel hesitated. She looked at her fins and then to the sea.

"If I become human," she said slowly, "I'll never be with my family again."

"Oh, that's right," said Rumplestiltskin, scratching his scaly chin in mock consideration. "Well, family _is_ important. Isn't life full of tough decisions?"

She looked over Rumplestiltskin's shoulder and along the beach to where the cliff hid the castle from view.

"And you really can turn me into a human?"

"For ever and ever," he said with a dramatic voice that matched his constantly waving hands. "But remember, all magic comes with a price."

"But I don't have anything."

Rumplestiltskin giggled yet again.

"That's where you're wrong, dearie," he said, stepping closer to her. "Oh, I'm not asking much, you'll never even miss it."

He leaned in close. Ariel's skin crawled, as she looked into his large brown eyes. Their gaze seemed to cut into her, as though he were looking straight into her soul.

"What I want from you," he said slowly, "is your voice."

Ariel raised a hand to her throat. Surely he wasn't serious.

"My voice? Why do you want that?"

"That … is my business," he said, stepping back. "Do we have a deal?" His evil grin was wider than ever.

"But – without my voice, how can I –"

"Well that's your problem, isn't it dearie?" he said with a flourish of his hand. "The men on land never like a woman who talks too much, anyway."

"So that's the deal you want to make?" said Ariel. "My voice for -"

"For legs, yes," he said swiftly. "Now I'm a very busy man, do you want them or not?"

"But how can I give you my voice?"

"Oh, it's quite simple really. All you have to is sign …" a roll of parchment appeared in his hand and fell open, "… on the dotted line."

Ariel peered closely at the parchment. It was a contract.

 _I hereby grant unto Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One …_

"Once you sign it, I'll take care of the rest," said Rumplestiltskin.

… _one voice …_

"And then no more talking, nor singing."

… _in exchange for …_

"And then you'll get what you've always wanted." He handed her a bright green quill. She took a deep breath. If this was her only chance …

 _Signed …_

Before she could change her mind, she gripped the quill and scrawled her name at the bottom.

 _Ariel._

The contract vanished in his hand in a puff of smoke, replaced by a golden nautilus shell.

He waved his other hand, and Ariel felt a cold sensation in her throat. All of a sudden her mouth was open. She was singing, though she didn't mean to. A pulsating golden light floated out of her mouth, and the sound of her voice followed it until it vanished inside the shell. And then silence.

Ariel grabbed at her throat. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

Rumplestiltskin closed his hand tightly around the shell and giggled. He stepped back and waved his hand again.

Thick, dark smoke appeared around Ariel's tail and consumed it. After a moment, the smoke disappeared to reveal a pair of human legs.

"Use them wisely, dearie."

Unable to believe her eyes, Ariel found the feeling in her new legs and moved them.

"Oh, thank you," she tried to say. Only silent words came out.

She looked up, and Rumplestiltskin was gone. And so was her voice.

Ariel lifted up a foot and wiggled the toes. She grinned in delight, she would even have laughed if she could.

 _If this is the price of magic, it's worth it._


	2. Chapter 2 - A Necklace and a Flute

(AN: The Ursula in this story is NOT the same as the Ursula in the Once Upon a Time canon. It ignores season 3 onwards and so Ursula is my own character based in part on Ursula from Disney's The Little Mermaid.)

 **II**

Flexing and beating her fins as fast as she could, Ursula darted around rocks and reefs and raced through the water towards the prince's castle, with the image she had just seen held firm in her mind.

 _He's done it. He actually has it._

She was nearly there now. The Sea Witch surfaced near the castle, her head hovering just above the water. Parting her long dark hair to look, she recognised the rock instantly. _That_ was where the redhead was sat. Turning her head, Ursula saw a nearby beach on the edge of the forest. It was away from the castle, somewhere that she couldn't be seen.

Lowering her head back into the water, she swam for the shore. As she swam closer, her deep violet fishtail split itself into six and grew out into tentacles. Her pace became slower and slower as she transformed, until she was beating these tentacles as hard as she could to reach land. Finally, the tentacles gripped onto the sand and dragged her up the shore.

It was a narrow beach between the sea and the trees, through which Ursula could see a road leading towards the castle. The castle, however, she could no longer see. She stood upright on her tentacles and cleared her throat.

"Rumplestiltskin, Rumplestiltskin, Rumplestiltskin," said the Sea Witch in her deep voice. She had barely said his name the third time when the Dark One appeared before her.

"My, my, you _are_ an eager one, aren't you?" he giggled. "I've barely had time to try this out for myself." He grinned and held up a necklace – a golden nautilus shell hanging from a black cord.

"I'm impressed, Rumple," said Ursula, smirking at the necklace. "You found a way to do it much faster than the Queen."

"She does try, bless her," said Rumplestiltskin, looking curiously at Ursula's dark purple tentacles. "Although she's very good at keeping an eye on things … as are you, it would seem."

"I have my methods," said Ursula simply. "Now, for our deal."

"Patience, dearie, patience," he said. "Let's not run before we can walk, so to speak." He let out a squeaky giggle, his eyes fixed on Ursula's tentacles.

Rolling her eyes, Ursula waved her hand. Purple smoke swirled around her, and cleared away to reveal a pair of legs instead of tentacles, and a long black dress.

"Now you look the part," he said. Ursula gave him a cold, sarcastic smile.

"I don't need a dress rehearsal. Now, is that really her voice?" she said, looking at the shell dangling from his hand.

"Oh, absolutely," he said. He put the necklace over his head and cleared his throat. "Oh, the prince!" Instead of his usual voice, the voice like a bell came from the Dark One's lips. "Oh, I love him! Oh, what I would give to be with him!"

Ursula smirked. "Clearly anything, if she's willing to give up _that_ ," she said as Rumple removed the necklace. "That lovesick girl doesn't know what she's doing."

"But you do, don't you, dearie?" said Rumple through his widest grin. "You know what you need to do with this voice if I give it to you."

"I do," said Ursula, "but tell me, what does the Dark One want with the Moranastice?"

"Sorry, dearie, I don't remember that being part of our agreement," he said in a cold sing-song voice. "Just get it for me and wait for things to develop between the mermaid and her twoo love," he said in a mock daydream voice, "and then, when the time is right, you make your move. I'll be waiting for my invitation."

"And you'll get it," said Ursula with another cold, grimacing smile.

Rumplestiltskin let out another high-pitched giggle, and the necklace disappeared from his hand. It was now around Ursula's neck, the warm golden shell resting over her heart. She opened her mouth and sang the melody that Ariel herself often sang. The imp hopped and clapped with glee as the witch heard a different voice to her own.

"Very good, dearie," he said. "Use it well, and remember – summon me once you have the Moranastice and the prince."

The Dark One vanished, and Ursula examined her new necklace. Holding up the shell, she saw tiny lettering on the underside: Ariel's signature.

 _Pity you couldn't just transform yourself Ariel, you'd have saved yourself so much trouble. And pity I couldn't just take your voice myself. But no matter, it's mine now. And those legs will cost you a much steeper price than you thought._

The Sea Witch stepped down the sand and back into the water; her legs transformed back into violet tentacles, pulling her further into the sea. The voice still hanging round her neck, she dived under the water. There was a splash of tentacles in the air before they vanished beneath the surface, and Ursula was gone.

 **III**

"Ah, Madame Mayor. How may I be of assistance?"

Mr Gold was standing behind his counter as always. He was in the middle of carefully polishing an antique cutlery set. Smiling and closing the door behind her, Regina glanced at several items as she strolled towards him.

"I'm looking for a gift, Gold," she said, placing her hands firmly on the glass counter. "Something to give to my son."

"Henry. Is it his birthday coming up?" Gold picked up a tablespoon to polish. "How old will he be, again?"

"Not for his birthday, that's not until August," Regina said idly as she looked around. "And he'll be seven."

She looked back at him.

"No, I just thought I'd get him something," she said with the faintest hint of a smile. "He's doing so well in school, especially English. He's the best reader in his class."

"He's a bright boy," said Gold. "Well, if he's a good reader, we have plenty of books, but … perhaps not for his age."

He gestured over to a dusty stack of old, thick books sitting to the side. Even Regina didn't like the thought of tackling them.

"He's not doing _that_ well, no," she said with a dry smile.

"Very well, let me see," said Gold, placing the sparkling tablespoon back in its case. Taking his walking stick he looked behind the right-hand counter. Regina stood still, examining the cutlery set as she waited.

"How about this?" he said. "Perhaps he's musical as well?"

Gold returned and placed a silver flute on the counter. Regina looked down at it and raised an eyebrow. She knew she'd seen it somewhere before.

He was waiting patiently for her response as she considered the flute. Her eyes widened as she realised where she'd seen it, and who it belonged to.

"No, he's not," said Regina, shaking her head. "I never much cared for music, anyway."

"Well, if you're sure," said Gold, taking the flute back to its home. "Have you any other ideas of what he'd like?"

Regina fixed him with a stare as he returned. Of all the things in the shop to suggest …

"You know what?" she said slowly. "I think I'll leave it."

"Very well," said Gold, returning to his polishing. "Let me know if you ever change your mind." He picked up a fork from the set.

Regina turned to go, but browsed along the left-hand counter anyway. The mayor ran her finger along the surface and looked at her fingertip.

"Place is looking dusty, Gold," she said. She grinned to remember the last time she had told him that, before turning to face him again. "Must be difficult to keep the place clean on your own," she continued, looking at the fork he was shining.

Gold looked calmly back at her.

"What do you suggest, Madame Mayor?"

"Perhaps you should invest in a cleaner. Maybe more people would come in then. I mean, you have this collection," she said, smiling and gesturing around the shop, "and no one really sees it."

Gold placed the fork back with the other cutlery.

"I think I'll manage. I normally do," he said coolly. "Good day, Ms Mills."

Cocking her eyebrow, Regina looked where Gold had replaced the flute. She turned on her heels and strode out of the shop.

 **IV**

' _Where would we walk? Where would we run?'_

The song was still stuck in Prince Eric's head. The same song that had been on his mind ever since he woke up on that beach.

' _If we could stay all day in the sun.'_

His eyes were fixed on the horizon, as if waiting for a ship to appear. A ship that would come into harbour, and promptly announce that it was carrying the girl he was looking for. And then he would be able to thank her for saving his life.

' _Just you and me.'_

Eric knew he had to find that girl. And when he did, he would ask to marry her.

' _And I could be part of your world.'_

But _where_ did she go? Where could she be? She must have vanished into thin air. Eric let out a long sigh and stepped away from the window. He sat down and pulled on his boots, humming the melody of the mystery maiden's song.

Eric made his way quickly downstairs and outside. His eyes fixed on the sea, he descended the steps onto the golden sand of the beach. He took a silver flute out of his pocket and began to play the tune again.

It was almost like being back there. With every note from the flute, he felt as if he was just waking up on the sand again: the sun in his eyes, her gentle voice in his ear …

As he reached the last note of the melody, he was back in the same spot. The place where he had woken up. He looked up and down the beach again, and found it hard to believe she could have hidden away quickly enough. Behind him was the cliff (he doubted she could have climbed that) and back the way he had come was the castle. She would never have gone that way, or else someone would have seen her.

Eric walked further along the beach. Perhaps – if she ran fast enough – she could have hidden in that direction, where the beach and cliff turned a corner.

 _But she didn't._

He sighed, and continued to stroll along the beach. He put his flute back in his pocket and reached the bend, looking at his feet as he wandered.

There was a shifting sound ahead. Eric looked up, and halted in alarm.

It was a girl. Or more a young woman, really. She was sitting on a rock in the middle of the beach, and looked equally stunned to see him. But as Eric carefully stepped closer she looked delighted to see him, hastily smoothing out her long, bright red hair.

She also seemed to be wearing very little.

"Uh … are you okay, miss?" he asked. He didn't dare look directly at her in case he seemed rude.

 _Where did she come from?_

Perhaps she was like him, washed up from a shipwreck. Clearly she'd had a rougher time than he did. What if she was rescued by the same girl?

 _If she was, maybe she knows where she is._

The girl hadn't spoken. She was just nodding and smiling at him. Eric was getting ahead of himself. She needed help – she needed clothes.

"Here," he said, quickly taking off his shirt. "Put it on," he said kindly, holding it out without looking at her.

The girl hesitated, and then slowly took it from him. Eric looked at his feet and waited for her to say something. He could hear her putting on his shirt, and then saw her feet step onto the sand.

"Better now?" he asked the sand.

Suddenly, all he could see was red as she stumbled straight into him. Her tangled wet hair in his face, he staggered back and held her round the middle.

"Whoa, whoa," he said, steadying the both of them. "Are you okay?"

She held onto his arms and tried to regain her balance. As Eric tried to help her stand properly, she seemed to be having trouble. She must have been exhausted.

"Careful. Why don't we sit down?" he said. She looked up at him, embarrassed at what she had done, and nodded.

Eric gently lowered her onto the sand and sat beside her, facing out to sea. Thankfully his shirt covered most of her, so he didn't feel guilty to look at her properly. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had eyes as blue as water, and hair as red as flame. And a dazzling smile that would not disappear.

"Better now?" he repeated with a smile. She nodded shyly, her eyes not leaving his. "You don't speak much, do you?"

She opened her mouth instinctively, and then silently shook her head.

" _Can_ you speak?"

Again, she shook her head sadly.

"Well, that's okay," he said. "You can understand me, right?"

She smiled again and nodded.

"Okay, then, let's see," he said thoughtfully. He turned to face her properly and scratched his chin. She did the same. "Where did you come from?"

The girl pointed out to sea.

"So you're from another land?"

She considered this for a moment, and then nodded slowly.

"How did you get here?"

She made a wavy motion with her hand, like a fish.

"You swam here?"

She nodded.

"Oh, wow. Why?" he asked. "I mean, were you in a shipwreck?"

Again, she thought about the question for a second or two. She then nodded enthusiastically, as though very satisfied with her answer. Eric was shocked by how happy she looked.

"Me too. But somehow, I survived as well."

The girl looked very interested at this. She nodded him to say more.

"Well … now, don't tell anyone about this. You know what I mean," he said at the look on her face. "But I'm _sure_ I was rescued. I just … _woke up_ here, and I could hear someone singing. A girl. But then she just disappeared and -"

The girl was now nodding with excitement.

"What? What? What are you trying to say? Have you seen her?"

She shook her head, irritated. She was pointing to herself.

"She rescued you too? No? Whoa, careful," he said as she impatiently tried to stand up.

Eric stood up to help her, just in time for her to lose her balance again. He caught her round the middle and she caught onto his shoulders.

"Careful. Easy, easy," he said softly, holding her steady again.

She looked up into his eyes again, her hair strewn over her face. Eric raised a hand to brush it gently aside, and she closed her eyes and took a breath. He couldn't tell whether it was out of comfort or frustration.

"Gee, you must have really been through something," he said, and she opened her eyes again to stare into his. "Don't worry, I'll help you," he assured her. "Let's go back to my castle, okay? Here."

Letting her hold onto his shoulder, he helped her gain a proper footing and they set off.

"Let's just forget about it now. You'll be okay."

As they rounded the corner of the cliff, and the castle came into view, Eric's hand slipped down to his pocket to check that his flute was still there.


	3. Chapter 3 - A Plate, a Cup and a Spoon

**V**

"Washed up from a shipwreck … you poor thing …"

Ariel could hardly pay attention as Carlotta, the prince's kind-faced maid, set about dressing her for dinner. She was too mesmerised by the large bedroom she was in: the wooden furniture, the flat hard floor beneath her, the funny little objects that she didn't recognise from exploring shipwrecks.

It was odd to be stood firmly on the floor like this, not being able to go up and down. Looking out at the magnificent garden below, Ariel's first instinct would have been to go straight out of the window – but she knew that on land that wasn't such a good idea. Instead, she would have to go down the stairs and find a door.

"But what are the chances of you swimming to land in the same place the prince did?" said Carlotta. "You're both very lucky to be alive."

Ariel smiled at her, knowing very well by now that that was all she could do. It was so frustrating, not being able to tell the prince she'd met him before.

 _If only I'd let him see me before I swam away … but then, he might have seen what I am._

Ariel still wasn't sure if she wanted Eric to know what she was – or at least, what she used to be. But seeing the way he looked when he talked about the mystery girl, Ariel couldn't help but wonder if she'd have a chance with him if he didn't know.

 _Why did I have to sing to him? Now he's looking for a girl who can sing!_

"There you go, honey," said Carlotta, stepping back to look at her. "Oh, you look pretty as a princess."

She took Ariel's hand. Ariel breathed in, and put one foot forward. Then the other. Careful to keep her balance, she steadily followed the maid to the mirror. Slowly but surely, she was getting the hang of this walking thing – although the heels didn't help.

"Now, don't you look lovely?"

Ariel was taken aback by her reflection. She was standing in a pale salmon pink dress. It seemed to bring out the redness of her now-dry hair, which was clipped back over the ears and allowed to flow down her back. Ariel couldn't help but smile. At last, she truly looked like a human.

"Are you happy? Yes? Good. Now, let's go downstairs. The prince will be waiting."

One foot after the other, Ariel followed her to the door. She felt so foolish to remember when she tried to walk before, and staggered headfirst into Eric.

 _A girl who can't walk or talk. He must think I'm such an idiot._

And yet, he was so kind. The patient way he spoke to her, the sweet way he smiled at her, the gentle way he held her … it could be Ariel's imagination, but maybe she _did_ have a chance. After all, she had plenty of time, and surely Eric could only wait so long for a girl with her voice to show up.

 **VI**

"A girl from a shipwreck? Eric, does this have anything to do with that dream of yours?"

"It's not a dream, Father, and no it doesn't. She was confused, she needed help."

Eric was dressing himself for dinner, his eye constantly wandering to the window, looking out to sea. His father, the king, was standing near the door. He was a handsome man, tall and very much like his son, but his greying hair was neater and not windswept from constantly going out to sea.

"So you give her your shirt and ask her to dinner?" he laughed, stepping forward. "Eric, the girl shows up wearing nothing and doesn't speak. That's not my idea of a princess."

"It's not like that, Father," said Eric patiently. "I'm waiting for the one who rescued me."

"Well, then you'll be waiting forever for a dream girl."

"She's not a dream girl. She saved my life," said Eric, pocketing his flute and looking in the mirror. His white shirt was open-collar underneath a black leather waistcoat.

Satisfied, Eric took one more look out of the window, and then crossed to the door and opened it. The king followed him out into the corridor.

"We don't even know who this mute girl is," he said as they walked.

"But we can find out, when she's had time to recover," said Eric, straightening his cuffs.

"And how do you plan on doing that? The girl can't say a word."

"I already know she's from another land, and she got caught up in a shipwreck."

The king looked curious at this.

"And what would she be doing here?"

"I don't know, Father."

"Well, she's your friend, son. And you seem to know plenty already."

"I made guesses and she nodded. I won't ask her any more about it until she's feeling better."

"She _could_ be a princess," said the king in a low voice as they reached the stairs.

"So what if she is?" Eric retorted as they descended the steps.

"So her kingdom might reward us for helping her," said the king earnestly. "They might even want you to marry her."

"I told you, my heart already belongs to someone, Father. I want to marry for love."

"Oh, for goodness' sake, Eric. Be reasonable, young girls don't just swim around rescuing princes in the middle of the ocean."

"I'm telling you, Father, she was real. I'm going to find that girl, and marry her."

They reached the bottom of the stairs and made their way to the dining hall.

"And what if you don't find her? What then?"

Eric considered this for a moment. He supposed he would have to marry anyway.

"I'll have to marry … someone else."

"Someone who can't speak, by any chance?" said the king with a smile.

Eric stared forward. He took a while to respond.

"I barely know her," he said. They arrived in the dining hall, where the dinner table had two places set at the end. It was a magnificent room with a doorway at either end; an entire wall was made of windows overlooking the ocean. The girl wasn't there yet.

"That isn't an answer," said the king. "Just be careful, Eric. We all have to make tough decisions, but they always have a time limit and a price. Watch out for what you might be giving up."

"Come on, honey. Don't be shy." Carlotta's voice came from the doorway at the other end of the hall.

"I'll leave you to it." The king backed into the doorway. "Good luck, son," he said, closing the doors on his way out.

Eric didn't have time to think on what he said. He straightened up and turned around.

As he approached, the girl came into view and his face broke into a smile. Above the soft pink of her dress, her hair burned like the sunset on the ocean. Beneath her wide, ocean-blue eyes she wore the same bright smile as before. She was breath-taking.

"You … you look wonderful," he said, and she bowed her head in thanks.

Offering his arm, Eric led her to her seat. She walked very slowly and stiffly, but a lot better than she had on the beach. Once she was sat down, Eric walked around to his seat and saw that she was fidgeting a lot, looking closely at the chair beneath her.

"Uh … are you comfortable?" he asked. She nodded enthusiastically, and closely examined the cutlery on the table.

As Eric sat down, his flute dug into his leg. He shifted it in his pocket, and his hand lingered over it for a moment. He looked up at the girl, and was surprised to see her massaging her face with her dessert spoon.

Eric stared in confusion – was this what spoons were used for where she came from? The moment the girl saw him staring, she froze. Her eyes jumped between Eric and the spoon, her face turned red and she put it back on the table in embarrassment. He grinned.

"I've never seen them used like that before. Do your people do that where you're from?"

She smiled, then nodded slowly. Raising his eyebrows, Eric leaned forward in fascination.

"Sounds like an interesting place. Maybe I should sail there sometime."

She nodded and, copying him, leaned forward on her elbow with her head resting in her hand.

"This place is probably very strange to you, right? Maybe I could show you around tomorrow, give you a tour?"

The girl nodded eagerly, as though he had just offered her a pile of gold.

"Okay, let's do it," he said gladly. He sat back, completely forgetting about the flute in his pocket, and dinner was served. "I hope you like it. We're having fish."

 **VII**

"Careful, dearie. For you, that's almost cannibalism."

Rumplestiltskin giggled down at the crystal ball on the table, tapping his fingertips together playfully. The look on their faces, the prince and the mermaid's – he had seen that look in others before.

 _The look of twoo love._

"Just keep going, dearie. Just a little bit further."

He waved his hand; Ariel, Eric and the dinner table disappeared from the crystal ball. Rumplestiltskin stood up and looked at the mirror in the corner, which was still covered up. How tempting it was to uncover it again, to thank the Queen for her idea.

" _I have a deal to discuss. A certain … mermaid."_

Rumple grinned as he crossed the room to his display. He approached the pedestal he had spent the most time looking at since the Queen's last visit. The pedestal displaying a small, chipped teacup.

His wide grin shrank into a small smile as he came closer. He extended a finger and slowly traced the rim of the cup, all the way around until his fingertip reached the gap.

 _A chipped cup. Let's just hope it's enough._

 **VIII**

 _Emma._

As Mr Gold entered his shop, it was almost like seeing it all for the first time. All these objects, all this stuff he thought he had collected, all that time he had spent thinking they were just simple objects and antiques.

 _Emma._

The name was still echoing in his head. The name that gave him back his memories.

" _Swan. Emma Swan."_

And now he was finally able to be satisfied, to be smug that he had actually done it. After all this time, all his work, he had reached the land without magic.

Gold peered through the darkness at all the things that belonged to the victims of the curse. He walked past the puppets – the carpenter's parents – and stared at the unicorn mobile hanging over the left-hand counter. Emma's mobile.

 _Emma Swan._

But some of the things in Gold's shop did belong to him. Once he remembered this, his smirking expression flickered to a serious one, and he hurried through to his office in the back.

More objects that suddenly had so much meaning – but where was the one that meant the most of all? Trying to concentrate despite the echoes of the Saviour's name, Mr Gold wondered where he had seen it last. He had better not have thrown it away …

There it was, on the shelf. Mr Gold crossed the room and reached up, withdrawing a plain shawl from it. Bae's shawl. He held it close with relief.

 _I will find you, Bae. Thanks to Emma._

And there was something else that belonged to him, but where? Gold put the shawl down and scanned the room, searching his false memories. Suddenly remembering, he pointed his finger at a cabinet and headed towards it. Dropping his walking stick, he seized the door and pulled it open. He sighed with relief.

Inside the cabinet was a set of fine china, and among the plates and saucers he found it – a chipped teacup. He carefully picked it up and gripped it tight, staring so hard at it as if to make up for twenty-eight years of ignoring it. Picking his stick back up, he carried the chipped cup back through into the shop and placed it gently on the front counter. The echoes of Emma's name were beginning to fade and be replaced by another.

"Belle," he whimpered, his lip trembling. He screwed his eyes up, bowed his head over the cup, and sobbed.

As he snivelled and wept over the cup, a tear ran down his nose and dropped into it.

A tear …

Something dawned on Mr Gold's face as he saw it land in the cup, and he looked up. Drying his eyes, he looked around the shop.

 _Where is it?_

Maybe it was somewhere in here – maybe it was carried here by the curse. Racking his brains, Gold couldn't remember ever seeing it here.

He began to search the shop, looking frantically through shelves and under counters, violently shifting and thrusting objects aside.

 _Oh, come on, let it be here somewhere …_

He suddenly stopped when he found something – something he had seen many times before, but like everything else in this shop he had previously considered pointless.

Gold picked it up and stood up straight, leaning on his stick as he stared at it in his hand.

The silver flute.

He breathed in and let out a slow, angry, rattling breath. It was more like a growl, the growl of a beast.

"You'll pay for this," he muttered. "I have no use for you anymore. When I figure out how, when the time is right, you'll pay."

He gripped the flute so tightly it hurt, and threw it as hard as he could. The flute sailed across the room and struck a vase on a shelf, smashing it to pieces before clattering loudly to the floor. It wasn't until it had rolled noisily to the foot of the counter and fallen silent, that Gold realised.

 _He's in Storybrooke. Maybe, just maybe, there's still a chance._

 **IX**

The faint sound of the melody, the tune of the prince's flute, could be heard from the beach. The music carried far out to sea, over the gentle waves that glinted in the moonlight. A wave rolled onto the shore, and with its foam several large, dark tentacles slapped onto the sand.

Ursula pulled herself up onto the shore on the corner of the beach, her wet violet tentacles glistening with the cold seawater. The sea witch smoothed her hair back and squeezed the water out of it. She lifted a scaled bag over her head, careful not to catch the strap on her warm shell necklace, and held it out.

She shook some of the water off the heavy black bag, and dropped it onto the sand. Turning towards the prince's castle, and the music coming from its garden, she smirked.

 _Beautiful music, Eric._

A tentacle stretched out and slithered over the wet sand. As soon as the next wave came in, it circled around to catch a tiny pool of seawater. Ursula made a lifting motion with her hand, and the entrapped water rose into the air in a large bubble before her.

An image shimmered into view inside the bubble. It was the redhead, sat on her bed in a nightdress. She was looking curiously at the squashy mattress, bouncing up and down on it in delight. Ursula couldn't help but laugh; she almost felt sorry for the girl.

 _She seems happy so far. Good._

As Ariel laid down on the soft bed with a smile, the bubble burst, fell back into the waves and became sea foam.

Ursula hooked the scaled bag with a tentacle and lifted it back up to her. With her hand she reached in and took out what was inside.

It was a smooth, round stone plate. At night its grey colour looked almost black, but in the moonlight Ursula could still make out what was engraved upon it: two moray eels. The ends of their tails met in the very centre of the plate, and they snaked and spiralled around each other until their heads rested as far apart as possible.

Clutching Ariel's voice with one hand, the sea witch weighed the Moranastice in the other, and looked back towards the castle. Now all there was for her to do was watch, and wait.


	4. Chapter 4 - A Decision to Make

**X**

"Did you have a nice day, dear?" asked Carlotta as she helped Ariel get ready for bed.

Ariel nodded. A soft, content smile had lingered on her face ever since Eric said goodnight to her.

"Good. The prince seems to love spending time with you. He's done little else these past few days."

It was true. After he had shown her around his kingdom for the first time, Eric and Ariel had spent more and more time together, until they were almost inseparable by day. And the more Ariel learned about the prince and the people on land, the happier she grew.

So happy, in fact, that she almost didn't remember or care that she couldn't speak. It was remarkable how easily she could talk to him just by nodding and gesturing. And once she had decided not to tell Eric who she was, it only made everything easier.

"I think he must be very fond of you, if you don't mind me saying."

Ariel shook her head to say, 'I don't mind at all.'

And Carlotta was right: Eric seemed to like Ariel just the way she was. But then each night she would hear him, down in the garden, playing that strange human instrument. And amazingly, he would play the tune of her song, the song she had sung when she rescued him.

"There you are, dear. Now, is there anything else you need?"

Ariel stood there in her nightdress and shook her head. Carlotta said goodnight and left the room, only leaving the bedside candle lit.

Once the maid was gone, Ariel stepped lightly to her bedside table and picked up the fork Eric had given her. She danced over to the mirror with it and idly brushed her hair, gently swaying from side to side as she did.

Her eyes wandered to the window as she brushed, looking down into the garden. As usual, Eric was sat near the wall overlooking the beach. But he wasn't playing his instrument. He was thinking.

Still brushing her hair, Ariel stepped closer to the window and looked curiously down at him. She slowly opened the window up, put down her fork, and leaned on the windowsill. The cool evening breeze stroked her face and she breathed it in, smelling the salty sea air.

Sometimes she missed it. Being a mermaid, living under the sea. If only there was a way to be both, she often thought. But then she remembered to be glad she could choose either. She couldn't have both, she couldn't have everything, so she had to choose. Hopefully, she had made the right choice.

The first note from Eric's flute snapped her out of her relaxed gaze. She watched closely as Eric began to play that same song, looking far out to sea as he did. It was only at these moments, at night, when Ariel wondered if she should try to tell him after all. But then, the next morning, he didn't seem to think about his rescuer at all, and Ariel would almost think she knew what he wanted. It seemed like he was one person then and someone different now.

 _Not that I'm one to talk._

Suddenly, Eric stopped playing halfway through the song, and backed away from the garden wall. He held the instrument in one hand and looked at his feet. Ariel peered closer through the darkness. As she watched, he gripped the silver thing in his hand, ran forward and threw it with all his might. Ariel's mouth fell open as it twirled through the air, out of sight and into the water with a faint splash. Eric turned from the sea and strode off through the garden without looking back.

Ariel backed away from the window with her hands over her mouth. They soon fell away as a delighted grin spread over her face. Once again, she would have laughed with joy if she had a voice. Instead she twirled on the spot and dove backwards onto the bed. She let out a long, silent sigh of relief.

 _He loves me. I knew it!_

She wondered what he would say to her the next day, what he would do the next time he saw her. Closing her eyes, Ariel imagined him holding her in his arms again, just like before. She imagined looking up into his sky-blue eyes again, but this time hearing him say, "I love you, Ariel."

And as she imagined her reply, dreamed of hearing her own voice say it, the words slipped silently from her own mouth.

 _I love you, Eric._

 **XI**

Ursula threw her head back and laughed in Ariel's voice.

 _I can't stand it. This is just too easy._

The redhead was _already_ in love. Ursula continued to stare hungrily at the girl in the floating bubble.

 _You poor soul. You poor, unfortunate soul._

The daughter of Triton disappeared once again as the sea witch's bubble dropped into the water. Ursula turned, and a puff of purple smoke once again changed her tentacles to legs and a black dress.

Clutching her necklace, she began walking along the beach towards the castle. As she walked she held out her hand, and was suddenly holding the prince's silver flute. She let out one more laugh, and the voice rang through the night air like a bell.

 _Sorry, Ariel, but a deal is a deal._

 **XII**

"Good morning, Mr Collin."

"Oh, good morning, Mr Gold," said the man behind the fish stall.

It was a windy day on the docks; Gold brushed a few strands of hair out of his face and smiled at the prince. In the land of fairy tales, he was Prince Eric, but here he was known as Edward Collin the fishmonger.

"Let me guess, is it a haddock again?" Edward said with a grin.

"Right you are," said Gold, nodding and leaning on his walking stick. "Business going well?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's great. Couldn't be better. Hey, did you see the clock tower's working again?"

"Oh yes, I did. Very strange indeed," said Gold, paying for his haddock and taking the bag. "Not that you have much need for the time, it seems. Every time I visit the docks, I see you here."

"Oh, I love it here. The salty sea air, the wind blowing in your face. It's perfect."

"Not much spare time though, I expect," said Gold with concern. "Your girlfriend must miss you."

Edward's beaming face fell a little bit.

"Uh, I don't have a girlfriend, Mr Gold."

"Oh, I find that very hard to believe, strapping lad like you. There must be someone."

Edward smiled, embarrassed, and looked down for a moment.

"Well," he said, "I'm sure the right girl is out there somewhere. I just haven't found her yet."

"Perhaps you haven't been looking hard enough," said Mr Gold thoughtfully.

"Oh, when I find her, I'll know," said Edward confidently.

"You seem awfully sure," said Gold, tilting his head.

"Yeah, without a doubt."

Gold brushed more windswept hair from his face.

"Well, be careful, Mr Collin. Love is a tricky thing," he said sagely, looking out at the harbour. "You see, we don't choose who we love. _It_ chooses for us. Our choice is what to do about it. Now, that – _that_ is the tricky part."

Edward raised his eyebrows and stared.

"Uh, I'm guessing it chose for you, then, Mr Gold?"

Gold looked back at Edward.

"Yes. There was someone, someone I didn't expect to fall for," he said, looking down at his feet. "But she's gone now."

"Well, maybe someday she'll come back," said Edward with an encouraging smile.

Gold looked from the fish in his hand, back to the fishmonger, and smirked.

"Maybe."

 **XIII**

Eric climbed the stairs as fast as he could, heading for his bedchamber before he could change his mind.

 _Father's right. I can't wait forever for a dream girl._

Even if she was real, maybe his rescuer was just that: a rescuer. It didn't mean he needed to marry her if she wasn't even interested in speaking to him.

 _But the words she sang to me. She wanted to stay with me. So why didn't she?_

Eric shook his head and walked briskly along to his room. Clearly he'd misheard the words, or imagined them, or she was lying. Either way, there was nobody out there waiting to be with him.

Well, maybe not _nobody_ …

Entering his room, Eric shut the door behind him, leaned against it and closed his eyes.

 _If only she could talk. Then I might know what's going through her head._ _I still don't even know her name, where she's from, who she is, nothing._

And yet she was still so warm and caring, and sweet and curious, and interesting and funny, and fair and beautiful. How could someone be so many things without speaking? How could a stranger make him so happy?

Eric let out a frustrated groan and crossed to the balcony. Maybe that was the thing – maybe she wasn't a stranger, not really. True, in his head Eric didn't know much about the silent girl. But looking into those ocean-blue eyes, it felt like remembering someone he knew better than anyone. Sometimes it was like talking to himself, and not just because she didn't speak.

 _But what do I say to her?_

He backed away from the balcony and dropped onto his bed, rubbing his eyes as if to get water out of them. He ran his hands through his hair and scratched his head. Whatever he _would_ say, he would probably have to say it tomorrow. Like Father said, decisions have a time limit and a price.

A loud knock on the door made Eric jump. He stood up and approached the rapid knocking and the sound of his name.

"Eric! Open up, it's me! Open up!"

It was his father. Eric opened the door and the king stepped quickly into the room looking excited and shocked at the same time.

"Eric, she's here," he said.

"Who is?" said Eric.

"The mystery girl, the girl you've been talking about. She's here."

Eric's eyes widened and he stepped back.

"Really? How? Where did she come from?"

"From the beach. She just appeared and said she's the one who rescued you."

"And is she?"

"Well, come and see for yourself. You didn't tell anyone else about this mystery maiden, did you?"

"Well … not many. Let's go. Where is she?" said Eric.

"In the dining hall, waiting for you."

The king led Eric out of the room and down the corridor.

"You were right, Eric. If she's telling the truth, that is. I'm sorry for doubting you, son."

"It's okay, Father. I was beginning to doubt it too."

"What will you say to her?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll see, won't we?"

They made their way to the dining hall and stopped outside the doors.

"She's inside. I trust you'll know if she's telling the truth?"

"I will," said Eric, straightening up. "I'll come back and tell you if she isn't."

"You mean you want to be alone with her?"

"I think so, Father. This is something I need to do on my own."

"Very well. Good luck then, Eric. And be careful."

Eric nodded, turned to the doors and paused. There was no flute in his pocket now, it was just him and his memories. He pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

The dining hall was dimly lit with torches along three walls. But she was stood in front of the windows, a dark figure against the moonlight, looking out to sea.

As Eric approached, she turned her head of dark, wet hair and looked at him. Her eyes were a deep blue – it may have been Eric's imagination, but they almost looked purple – and she had a pretty face. She wore a long black dress and a necklace with a shell pendant.

"Uh, hi," he said nervously, and she smiled.

"Hello, Your Highness," she said. Eric thought he recognised her voice.

"Please, call me Eric."

"Okay," she said. "Hello, Eric." She was holding something behind her back, and Eric remained cautious.

"Are you the one? The one I've been looking for?"

"The one who saved you from the shipwreck? Yes, I am."

Her voice rang inside his head. With every word she said, the memory became clearer and clearer in his mind. But now, when she spoke, something was different.

"Where have you been? Who are you?"

"I've been waiting for the right moment. My name is Vanessa."

Her tone was lower than he expected. The voice was there, but the sweetness he remembered wasn't. Perhaps he had remembered it wrong all this time, or perhaps it was just different when she sang.

"Vanessa, I need to thank you for what you did. You saved my life."

"You're welcome, Eric," she said, stepping closer and looking him in the eye. "It's the least I could do for someone so handsome."

Eric smiled uncomfortably.

"You say you waited for the right moment. What was the right moment?"

Vanessa's smile widened, though it still didn't reach her eyes.

"The moment you gave me this."

She withdrew the thing she was hiding behind her back. Eric braced himself for a moment until he saw it.

"How did – how did you – but that's my flute."

"Yes, it is," said Vanessa, waving the silver thing in her hand. "I heard you playing it, such beautiful music. This flute played my song – our song. It holds our music, and when you gave it back, it was time for me to give it to you again."

She handed the flute to him and he took it, his fingers closing tightly around the cold metal.

"But I didn't give it back. I threw it into the water. How did you find it?"

"The same way I found you when you were thrown into the water. The sea is a part of me, a part of both of us, is it not?"

Eric looked carefully down at the flute, then back at Vanessa.

"Yes, it is."

He lifted the flute to his lips, and began to play the melody again, picking up where he had left off in the garden. The music came back to him, the memory on the beach moving his fingers. His eyes connected with hers, inviting her to sing. The woman took a deep breath and joined in.

"Where would we walk? Where would we run?

If we could stay all day in the sun."

It was almost exactly as he remembered. Almost the same voice, almost identical singing. Almost the same girl.

"Just you and me.

And I could be part of your world."

Eric stopped playing and silence fell throughout the hall. The only thing he could hear was the rushing waves lapping on the shore outside.

There was no denying it. This was his rescuer, the one he had been waiting for. The one he had thought of and played for every night, the one whose voice had lingered in his dreams, the one he owed his life.

Eric remembered what his father said.

" _We all have to make tough decisions, but they always have a time limit and a price."_

And he was right, but what was Eric's price for this? The sweet silent girl? He couldn't be with her _and_ with Vanessa. He couldn't have both, he couldn't have everything, so he had to choose. And he knew what his time limit was. This woman had disappeared before, and he couldn't help thinking she may do it again. This was his only chance.

"Vanessa," he said. He put the flute in his pocket and took her hand. "I don't know many ways to repay you. I owe you my life, and for that I'm forever in your debt. So, if you'd be willing …" He got down on one knee, and the flute dug into his leg again. "… I would like to spend it with you." Ignoring the pain that the flute gave him, he looked up into her calm, smiling face, summoned up his courage and forced the words out. "Vanessa, will you marry me?"

She raised her eyebrows, and her other hand touched her necklace. She gripped the shell tight as she breathed in.

"Yes, Eric." The chime of her voice echoed around the hall. "I will marry you."


	5. Chapter 5 - A Broken Heart

**XIV**

Ariel woke to the sound of seagulls crying outside. She looked out of the open window to see them flying above the garden and the beach. Yawning silently, she stretched her legs and sat up, before remembering what she had seen last night. Her face split once again into a wide grin and she jumped to her feet.

 _Today is the day. I wonder what he'll say to me._

She danced over to the open window and breathed in the morning sea air. She picked up her fork and began brushing her hair as she looked down into the garden. As she watched the seagulls scuttling about and the gardeners tending the bushes, she noticed that they were talking rather excitably.

Ariel still wasn't an expert on how humans talked to each other, but they seemed very enthusiastic in what they were saying, and she didn't often see enthusiasm on land at this time of the morning.

She closed the window to keep seagulls from getting in, and wandered back along the room as she brushed her hair, the thought of Eric throwing the instrument into the sea still shimmering in her mind.

"And he really means to marry her?"

"Yes, he's already planning the wedding."

Ariel froze, fork in hair, when she heard the voices floating nearby.

"What's she like then, this girl?" said the first voice as Ariel opened her door a crack and peered out. It was a pair of butlers walking down the corridor, their backs to her.

"Oh, she's beautiful," Ariel only just heard the second one say. "She doesn't say much though."

Unable to make out any more words, Ariel closed the door.

 _He wants to marry me? He wants to_ marry _me!_

She backed away from the door, hands over her mouth. They fell away for more silent but happy laughter, and she rushed to the mirror to sort her hair out. Her nightdress seemed fine, she had no time to get dressed right now.

Once her hair was as smooth and tidy as she could make it, Ariel rushed for the door. She flew down the corridor to the stairs and ran down them as fast as she could.

Ariel heard voices coming from the main hall. She headed towards them and found herself at the top of the steps leading down to the hall.

Before she could rush down the stairs she halted, a look of horror on her face. She stepped quickly behind a pillar and watched as the king stood near the windows, talking to Eric and another woman.

"I still cannot believe your mystery girl exists, Eric," he said. "Or that she's so lovely. I cannot thank you enough, my dear."

The woman nodded in response. Ariel couldn't see her face properly, only her long dark hair and deep purple dress.

"I hope the kingdom approves," said Eric, looking out of the window.

"Of course they will. My dear, if it weren't for you, my son would be dead. You will always be welcome in this kingdom as long as people know that."

Her heart pounding in her chest, Ariel retreated behind the pillar. She couldn't bear to look at them, but she could still hear them.

"We should probably send out invitations as soon as possible," came Eric's dull tone.

"Yes, indeed," said the king. "In the meantime, I'll have them ready the wedding ship. You can be married on the ocean at sunset."

Gripping her hair tight in one hand and covering her mouth with the other, Ariel screwed her eyes up to stop the tears. The king and the prince were still talking. She clutched her head and tried to block her ears. Her open mouth would have cried out if it could, but her pain was as silent as her laughter had been.

She couldn't stay here listening to them, she had to leave. Hair strewn over her face and tears welling in her eyes, she ran for the door. She left the hall unheard by anyone, not even Eric.

 **XV**

"She's marrying the sailor?"

The image of the king, the prince and the sea witch faded from the glass. Regina saw her own confused face for a split second, and then the face of the magic mirror.

"So it would seem," the mirror said grimly. "And on a ship at sunset, how romantic."

"It's sickening," she said bitterly.

"Exactly what deal did you make with her, Your Majesty?"

"I didn't," said the queen irritably, pacing up and down the room. "I told her I wanted her help to catch Snow White. I offered her all kinds of things, but there was only one thing she wanted: another mermaid's voice."

"And how does one obtain a voice?" asked the mirror.

"You tell me." Regina turned and glared at him. "Don't you think if I knew that, I'd have the ashes of Snow White's heart in my palm right now?"

The mirror remained silent, and Regina continued to pace.

"This is Rumplestiltskin's doing," she muttered, remembering her last conversation with the imp.

" _I have a deal to discuss. A certain … mermaid."_

" _I'm not dealing today."_

"I needed his help to get that mermaid what she wanted," she said. "But he was so hung up on his _house_ maid, I decided to wait … I didn't think he'd just find her and make the deal himself."

" _That_ sounds exactly like something Rumplestiltskin would do," said the mirror.

"But what could he want from that fish – octopus – whatever she is, that I can't give him?"

"Perhaps we've just seen what he wants. The son of King Christian is a precious commodity."

"Oh, please. What use does he have for Prince Edward?"

"His name is Eric."

"Who cares?" she shouted. "It makes no sense!"

The mirror fell silent again and Regina continued to pace. If only she'd known how to get that voice for Ursula. Clearly, Rumplestiltskin must have known how to get it, but why ask her to marry the prince?

 _Maybe he didn't ask for that. Maybe she wanted to marry him anyway. But why does she need the voice like a bell to do that?_

"If she needs another voice," said the mirror after a minute, "it must be for some sort of disguise. What other explanation could there be?"

The evil queen faced the mirror once more, a sly grin creeping onto her face.

"Yes," she said with relish as she considered it. "And if that disguise were to be ruined, if her cover was blown …"

Her grin became a smirk, and the mirror did the same.

"I guess I'll have to have another little talk with her, see if she's open to another deal. And now she has a prince on her arm, it might make capturing Snow White even easier."

"Well, you know where she is," said the mirror's smirking face.

"Indeed I do," she said.

Regina turned from the mirror, and the face vanished to leave a reflection of the chamber.

"Guards!" she called, and two of them hurried into the room. "Have them prepare the carriage. I have a wedding to attend."

 **XVI**

With a heavy heart, Eric knocked on the door.

"Hello? It's me, Eric. Are you in there?"

Behind the door, he could hear her moving. He listened closely for her approach, but she didn't come to the door.

"I have something to tell you. It's, uh, exciting news, I thought you should know."

He wanted nothing less than to tell the silent girl his news. But it was the right thing to do, and better sooner than later.

The girl came to the door and opened it ever so slowly. Seeing her face made things ten times harder. Behind her false smile, her eyes were pink from tears. Had she already heard about Vanessa from someone else? Eric wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

"Can I come in, please?"

She nodded and stepped aside. Eric closed the door behind him and turned to her. She was still in her nightdress, her red hair messy on one side, standing in bare feet. He could almost think she looked much as she had appeared when they met – but she didn't. A woman transformed, she wasn't her usual happy self at all. Her usual delighted grin had been replaced with a weak smile.

"Okay, here it is. The girl who rescued me is here. The one who took me back to land from the shipwreck. I'm _sure_ it's her. She sounds just like her, and she sang the same song and …"

He stopped himself before he could make more excuses.

 _She doesn't care how I know it's my rescuer._

"I decided I would ask her to marry me, if I ever found her. I owe her my life, I _have_ to repay her somehow. So …" His hands in his pockets, he gripped the flute once more. "I asked her, and she said yes. We're engaged to be married."

The girl was no longer trying to smile. Eric made no effort to, either. He took his hands from his pockets again, almost reached for her hand, and stopped. Instead he clasped them together until it hurt, almost as if to beg. Beg for what, though? For her forgiveness? For a way out? For _her_ to marry him instead?

She shook her head, her eyes welling up, and pointed frantically at herself.

"You? You?" Eric was sure what she meant. _Marry me, marry me …_

"I can't," he said weakly. "I have to do this. I had to make a choice while I had one. Whatever I chose would have had a price, and …"

 _And you are my price._

"… and a time limit. If I don't take this chance, it might disappear forever. And then I'll always regret it. I just hope I'm making the right choice."

She looked as though she were about to explode into tears. Giving up on pointing at herself, she opened her mouth to talk. No words came out, though she tried with all her might. Eric was sure that if she could talk, she would be screaming. He tried to read her lips, but couldn't make sense of them. The only word he recognised for sure was _me_.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what you're saying."

She closed her mouth, and her lip trembled. If he could only hear her voice once, if he could only know her name … Eric held out his hand, and she took it. Stroking her soft skin with his thumb, he brushed her hair out of her face.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Eric didn't dare move his legs, his knees were so weak. He didn't trust himself not to fall to them, still clutching her hand, and ask to be with her instead. He saw himself doing it over and over in his head, but each time he did he knew it would be wrong. Then he would repeatedly ask himself why, and repeatedly answer …

 _You're promised to Vanessa now. You owe her your life. This is what you wanted. You're just scared. It's for the best. The sweet silent girl will be okay in the end …_

"But we'll be okay," he said, putting on a brave smile. "You and I can be happy. I can find happiness with Vanessa, and you … you'll be fine."

She merely looked into his eyes, defeated. Eric couldn't bear to imagine her with another man, nevermind promise that she'll find one. But with a face like that, he felt certain she would. He just hoped she could find someone worthy of her.

"Anyway, I have to go … help with the preparations."

His legs didn't seem to want to move. She nodded slowly, clearly fighting hard to keep back her tears.

"I just had to come and tell you, and – and invite you to the wedding. If you want to come, that is. If you don't, I understand."

She let go of his hand and stepped back. Eric wasn't sure why he asked – of _course_ she didn't want to come. He didn't even think _he_ wanted her to come.

"Well, you're welcome to come if you do. Apart from that …" He sighed, and stepped steadily back, trying to regain the feeling in his legs. "I'm sorry."

Never had walking been so hard as when Eric turned to the door and left the room. He wanted nothing more than to stay in that room forever, to spend a silent lifetime in there and only marry Vanessa when it was nearly his time to die.

But he felt sure that, in any lifetime, he would never forget the look on the silent girl's face.

 **XVII**

The rainbow-coloured ripple of light spread out over Storybrooke, whipping through all its inhabitants as the curse was broken. Struck by the power of true love, their memories returned to them in an instant.

Edward Collin, the fishmonger, only saw the ripple approaching his stall for a moment before it washed over him. He staggered back from his fish, his hair blew back as if hit by a breeze, and before it had settled back down his eyed were wide with shock. His breathing was suddenly as deep as if he had surfaced from the sea, having almost drowned.

He stumbled out from behind his stall and looked wildly around. The few others on the docks were doing the same thing he was. No one with red hair, though.

 _I remember. I remember everything._

His hand slipped to his pocket. The flute was not there. Of course it wasn't.

 _The shipwreck. The wedding. My father. The Queen …_

And that face. That beautiful face. And that voice. Eric racked his brains to see if he remembered seeing her or even _hearing_ her in Storybrooke. Many, many, _many_ memories swam about in his head – memories that were at once old and new – but none from his life here, as Edward Collin. Only memories from when he was Prince Eric, before he was cursed.

 _Did she escape? No. No one could have escaped it. She must be somewhere._

He half walked, half ran from the docks into the town.

 _This is all my fault. I was so_ stupid, _it's all my fault._

Eric groaned as he looked at the people wandering by. Confused, scared, grief-stricken, but none with eyes blue as water and hair red as flame.

"Where are you?" he muttered. "Where are you, Ariel?"


	6. Chapter 6 - A Daughter of Triton

**XVIII**

 _I can't wait for this whole thing to be over with._

Ursula stepped carefully along the road from the castle, cursing the shoes she had been given. That stupid maid Carlotta had given her shoes with raised heels that made it harder to walk. Still, it was preferable to walking barefoot along this filthy road. As if humans weren't enough of a reason for her to hate being on dry land …

At last she drew level with the beach which stood just out of sight of Eric's castle. The beach where the Sea Witch had last met with Rumplestiltskin. Clutching the bag containing the Moranastice, Ursula stepped through the trees and out onto the sand.

Sighing with relief, she removed the loathsome shoes and threw them into the water.

"I'm swimming back after this, I don't care who sees me," she muttered in Ariel's voice, stomping down to the water. She was already content to let Eric know she was some mystical creature of the sea, but had decided she didn't want the whole castle to see her going for a long swim. But _that_ was before she had tried walking.

Looking around to check she was alone, Ursula withdrew the Moranastice from the scaled bag and held it out in the sunlight. The grey stone plate almost shone during the day, the double spiral of moray eels as clear as ever. On each head could be seen a single eye which looked pale, almost white, in the sun.

Ursula wondered once more what Rumplestiltskin wanted this device for. Perhaps she could find out somehow when she gave it to him. He must have needed it to make a deal with someone else, just as he had made his deal with Ariel in order to make one with her. A ridiculous chain of deals, all because she couldn't take a voice and _he_ couldn't travel to Atlantica.

Shaking her head, she cleared her throat and prepared to speak the Dark One's name three times.

"Rumple-"

She stopped and looked around as the sound of horses reached her ears. Several horses, travelling along the road past the beach.

 _Oh, brilliant. Wedding guests._

From a distance, Ursula could just make out the travelling party through the trees. The horses were pulling a handsome black carriage. Waiting patiently for the carriage to pass and mildly wondering who was inside – probably royalty – Ursula raised an eyebrow as it slowed and came to a stop.

The Sea Witch didn't much care if they had seen her. With the voice like a bell and her magic, she could convince any man, even a king and his driver, to get back to their carriage and move on without delay.

Which was why Ursula was taken aback when a woman stepped out of the carriage. And this was a woman she had met before.

Holding up the skirt of a long, red and black dress, the beautiful woman stepped through the trees and onto the sand, treading with ease in sturdy black boots that matched her black, neatly tied up hair. She parted her red lips in a wide grin.

"Ah, the Sea Witch," the Evil Queen said. "Fancy meeting you here. I thought I recognised you … from the waist up," she added, eyeing Ursula's legs.

"Regina," said Ursula with a false smile, stuffing the Moranastice back into the bag and holding it behind her back, as she stepped a few paces closer. "I assume you're here for the wedding?"

"You don't sound like you did the last time we spoke, dear." Regina's sharp eyes lingered over Ursula's necklace. "If you ask me, it's an improvement."

"I didn't ask you," Ursula said coolly.

"Then let me ask you something," said Regina sweetly. "Granted, your fiancé is quite a catch. But I didn't have you down as the marriage type. So, tell me – what do you want with him?"

Ursula smirked at her. "Jealous, Your Majesty? I thought you'd still be mourning your husband."

"Tell me, dear," said the Queen, "and I might just let you live to be married."

She held out her hand, and a ball of fire appeared in her palm. Ursula raised her own hand, and several large tentacles of water rose from the sea behind her and pointed themselves at Regina, poised to strike.

"No need to be bitter, Regina. It's not my fault Rumple could give me what I wanted and you couldn't."

"Oh, but I can," said Regina, stepping forward, fireball in hand, "if what you want is to marry your prince without everyone knowing he's marrying a squid."

The tentacles of water recoiled behind Ursula as she lowered her hand slightly. If Regina decided to blab about who this Vanessa really was, the wedding would be off.

"Very well," she said, and nodded to Regina's hand.

Rolling her eyes, the Queen extinguished the fireball with a clench of her fist. Behind Ursula, the tentacles of water dropped back into the sea.

"I suppose it doesn't matter much if you know," said Ursula. "I don't really want to marry that seafaring idiot. Rumplestiltskin wants me to do it, and made it part of our deal. I don't know why, just that it will allow me to keep the voice like a bell."

Ursula clutched the nautilus shell again with one hand, the other still hiding the bag behind her back. Regina looked at her suspiciously.

"And what exactly do you have there?"

"A necklace with the voice inside-"

"Not _that_. Behind your back."

"Oh, this?" She held out the scaled bag. "Just the other part of the deal. A gift for Rumple."

"Let me guess," said Regina, stepping closer with her arm outstretched. Ursula handed it to her. "Something from another land, so _he_ couldn't get it for himself."

"Not a _land,_ exactly …"

Regina took out the stone plate and examined it.

"Something for him to dine on at the wedding? I prefer gold plates, myself. What is it?"

"A powerful object from the Sea Kingdom. Something only the daughters of Triton could access – not that they know it."

Regina raised an eyebrow at Ursula.

"Triton's daughters?"

"Not his _actual_ daughters," said Ursula impatiently. "That's just what they're called. You're familiar with the legend of Triton, right?"

"Remind me," said Regina. "I'm a bit busy for reading these days."

"Triton was the fishtailed son of Poseidon. He had a conch shell with special powers over the seas. By blowing through it, Triton could calm the sea or raise its waves. He could influence men and merfolk alike from miles away. His power was so great, some say he may as well have carried his father's trident."

"And what does _that_ have to do with _this_?" said Regina, dropping the Moranastice onto the sand with a _thud_.

Ursula sighed, and continued.

"Triton's conch shell didn't just influence men and the sea. Its music could open a hidden vault in his realm, a vault which used to contain that," she explained, pointing down at the plate. "The Moranastice."

"So how did _you_ get it?"

"Legend tells that the conch was destroyed, and out of it floated seven musical voices, each one less powerful than the melody of the entire conch shell. But any one of them alone can open the vault – among other things. Each one of these voices found a new-born of the sea – a mermaid – and whenever one of these mermaids would die, the voice would find another new-born host. A mermaid with one of these voices is called a daughter of Triton. They've been found here and there for centuries, these mermaids. And _she_ is one of them. Just born at the right time, and I wasn't."

Ursula pointed in the direction of the castle, and Regina's eyes lit up.

"And now you have her voice?"

"The voice that is like a bell, yes," said Ursula, holding up the shell. "Until recently, it belonged to that lovesick girl, Ariel, completely wasted. According to some where I'm from, that redhead is the fairest in the sea," she said in disgust.

"Oh really?" said Regina. "Well, where I'm from, they say Snow White is the fairest in the land." Her smile turned to a scowl as she looked at the sand beneath her. "Only I know what she really is inside."

"I would have happily helped you with that, if you had only gotten me this voice."

Regina glared at her again.

"How _did_ he get it for you?"

"She gave it to him, in exchange for something else. She wanted legs, so that she could be with the prince."

"Oh, really?" The usual malevolent grin was creeping back onto the Queen's face. "The same prince you're now marrying? You sly fish."

Ursula laughed.

"The poor thing will be heartbroken, now. She's completely obsessed with him. Rumple wanted me to wait until the time was right, and then call him once I had the prince's heart _and_ the Moranastice." She stooped to pick up the plate, and dusted the sand off it. "So, if you don't mind …" She turned away to call out the name.

"I'm afraid I _do_ mind," said Regina sharply, before Ursula could speak, and stepped in front of her. " _What_ does that plate do?"

Ursula narrowed her eyes.

"I've never used it myself, but they say it can bring someone back from the dead."

Regina's eyes widened and stared at the plate.

"How?" she said suspiciously.

"Not just _anyone_ , though," said Ursula, "and it comes at a price. I hear it can only bring back a lost love. In return, another life who has lost love must be given. A heartbreak for a heartbreak. A life for a life."

To Ursula's great surprise, Regina's face split into a grin. The Queen threw her head back in laughter.

"So, he gave you the voice like a bell … for _his_ Belle."

"What do you mean? What's so funny?" said Ursula as Regina tried to contain her laughter. "Do you mean … the Dark One _loves_ someone?"

"Oh, yes," said Regina. "And that isn't even the best part."

"What's the best part?" said Ursula.

"Just hold on for a minute," said Regina. "Because you won't want to give that to Rumplestiltskin. Good thing, too, because you'll be giving it to me, instead. First, tell me how it works."

Ursula hesitated, and stepped back. She didn't plan to go back on her deal with Rumple. But she was too curious about what Regina meant, so she answered.

"It requires a symbol of each heartbreak to be placed on the plate. A tear fresh from the eye of the heartbroken will do, or a special object that holds their love for their beloved. The rest, I'm not so certain about."

Regina looked at the plate with what was unmistakeably a flicker of hope. But it only lasted for a moment until her face hardened again, and she looked back at Ursula.

"The Dark One has fallen for his caretaker: a bit young for him, if you ask me. But then, so is everyone. Her name is Belle. And he wants to use that thing because he thinks she's dead – but she isn't."

"So, why does he think she is?"

"Because I told him that," said Regina with a smile. "You should have seen him, too. He says magic comes with a price, but the look on his face was _priceless_." Ursula didn't smile, but Regina continued with her sly smirk. "I have her locked up somewhere – saved for a rainy day. Now, I'm guessing he means to use this mermaid, this … _Ariel_ … to trade for his cleaner, now that you've sufficiently broken the mermaid's heart for him …

"So, here's the deal," she continued. "If you give him that device, it won't work for him, and he'll think you've cheated him somehow. But give it to _me_ , and I'll be able to use it properly."

"And why shouldn't I just tell him where his lover is?" said Ursula. "Then I won't even have to marry that boy."

"And you probably won't get to keep that voice," said Regina in mock concern. "Your deal with him would be undone."

"It'll be undone anyway if I help you."

" _But_ you'll have my help to keep it. After the wedding, leave Rumplestiltskin to me, and you can keep your magic voice, and lure sailors to their deaths to your heart's desire. And this 'daughter of Triton' will be mine. You and I can help each other, one witch to another … or you could reject me, lose your new voice, and Ariel will stay alive."

Ursula considered it for a few moments.

 _If she has this Belle girl, she'll have leverage over him. He won't be able to hurt me or the Queen, if I help her._

"Who do you want to bring back, anyway? Your royal husband? I thought you only married him for the pretty dresses."

"Not _him_ ," the Queen snapped. "Someone I lost a long time ago, thanks to Snow White. Do we have a deal or not?"

She held out her hand for the object, and Ursula stared at it for a moment. Finally making her decision, Ursula put it back into the bag and handed it to her.

"Yes, we do."

Regina grinned and took the bag.

"A tear or an object, yes?"

"I think so. But don't blame me if it doesn't work."

Regina raised her eyebrow again.

"We'll see."

The scaled bag clutched tightly in her hand, Regina walked back up the beach to the trees.

"A pleasure doing business, Ursula," she called over her shoulder. "I'll see you on the boat when it's time, and so will Ariel. After all, everyone cries at a wedding."

Laughing once more, the Evil Queen climbed back into her carriage with the Moranastice. With a whip from the driver, the horses pulled the carriage away towards the castle.

Once the carriage was gone, Ursula removed her necklace. She held it up and waved her hand in circles around the shell. The voice inside glowed brighter and brighter, the sound of its song growing louder and louder. And then her hand stopped, the spell completed, and the shell returned to normal.

If the Dark One _did_ end up taking the voice back, the Sea Witch would need a way to find it again. A simple tracking spell would hopefully do the trick. She replaced the necklace around her neck, and clutched the pendant as she always did.

"Just in case," said the voice like a bell. "Just in case."

 **XIX**

Ignoring the Closed sign, Eric stormed through the door to Mr Gold's shop.

"Ah, Your Highness." Gold was stood behind the counter, beside a suitcase he seemed to be packing. "We are closed, you know."

"Where is she, Gold?" he demanded, walking up and slamming his hands on the counter. "What have you done with her?"

"Whatever do you mean?" the little man said calmly.

"I've looked everywhere for her," said Eric angrily. "No one has seen here. She's nowhere to be found. Where is she!"

"Where is who, Mr Collin?"

"Don't call me that! Where is Ariel?"

"Ah, the little mermaid," said Gold with a smile. "I didn't know whether you meant her or your fiancée."

Eric's hands clenched into fists on the counter, but Gold continued.

"I'm afraid, dearie, that I don't know either of their whereabouts. And as I said, we're closed at the moment, so if you don't mind-"

"You weren't closed five minutes ago, when the Queen was here."

Eric had seen Regina leaving in rather a hurry, clutching a small book. But he had barely ever spoken to her while in Storybrooke, so decided that Mr Gold was a priority for now.

"Yes, we were," he said coldly. "And I told her the same thing I'm telling you. It's the Queen's curse, anyway, so why don't you ask _her_ where your friend is?"

"Because _you_ made the deal with her."

"Well, I can assure you, I don't know where she is. Now, is there anything else, dearie? Because I have a trip to plan."

Eric's eyes widened.

"Out of town?"

"The meaning of the word _trip_ is not lost on you, I see."

"Could anyone else be out of town? Anyone from our world?"

"Yes, but not who you're hoping for, I'm afraid."

"So, where is she? Is she still in our world?"

Mr Gold glared back at him, and sighed.

"The Enchanted Forest is gone, dearie. Everyone that was there, was transported _here_." Gold gestured around him. "And they all owned something that is now in this shop. And I don't remember seeing a large pair of seashells in here. So if _she's_ not here, then either she's in a different realm altogether, or she's …"

The look on his face said it all.

"No," said Eric. "She has to be alive, right? Why would she be …"

"Who knows?" said Gold with a shrug. "I find myself wondering the same about that wretched Sea Witch. Honestly, they're probably in their own world – the Sea Kingdom. But if either one of them finds out where we all are, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they follow us here. Time has been frozen for them, same as us."

"Right," said Eric, feeling slightly relieved. "So, it's not been long for Ariel, either."

"I should think not. Now, would you leave if I gave you this?"

Gold turned around, opened a drawer behind him, and withdrew Eric's silver flute.

"Of all things," he said softly, handing the flute to a speechless Eric, who gripped it so hard it hurt. The flute of their music, the instrument of his folly, the symbol of his heartbreak. "I'll let you know if I happen to find something that belongs to your friend, but I severely doubt I will. I don't plan to be here for very long, anyway. But, by all means, keep looking for her. You'd be surprised who the Queen has hidden away. If she has a swimming pool somewhere, I'd look there first."

 **XX**

Ariel kept wiping her eyes as she ran down the castle steps to the beach. She couldn't bear to look at the harbour, where the wedding ship was being prepared.

Going as fast as she could on the sand, Ariel hurried along the beach until she was out of sight of the castle, near the rock where she had sat when she first met Eric. When she had last seen Rumplestiltskin.

"Rumplestiltskin!" she tried to shout. No sound came out. She tried over and over, hoping that he had at least allowed her to say his name, in case she wanted to undo the deal or make another one.

She stared wildly, desperately around, and tried again. "Rumplestiltskin!"

 _Rumplestiltskin, Rumplestiltskin, Rumplestiltskin, Rumplestiltskin, Rumplestiltskin._

Even mouthing the name didn't work, and apparently neither did thinking it. Wherever the Dark One was, he didn't know she was calling him.

Either that, or he just didn't want to come.

" _For ever and ever,"_ she remembered him saying. _"But remember, all magic comes with a price."_

Maybe part of the price was not being able to undo it. _For ever and ever._ She could not even have a few minutes as a mermaid back with her voice, the voice that somehow sounded a lot like this Vanessa woman's. Not even a few minutes to explain herself to Eric, to _show_ him that she was his rescuer, and to explain everything.

 _I should have thought about that before I signed the contract._

But how could she have thought she would ever want to undo it? With or without Eric, becoming human was a dream come true.

 _But I was so close! He loves me! And he chose her anyway..._

Maybe Rumplestiltskin could tell her how this happened, or just let her speak to Eric once. Even for that, she would even give up her hair if that was what it took.

"Rumplestiltskin!" she tried again, her vision blurred with tears. She stepped into the water, silently shouting and shouting, while screaming the name inside her head. Beginning to give up, she closed her eyes and the tears rolled down her cheeks.

She opened them, her vision clear once again, and the scaled man was nowhere to be seen.

Ariel backed away and sat down on the shore. The small waves washed up around her, soaking her dress, but she didn't care. She remembered that day, when she had sat here with Eric, trying to explain who she was before stupidly deciding she didn't need to. She should have tried while she had the chance. But she had made her choice, and now time was up.

As a wave rolled in and washed up around her, a single tear fell from Ariel's face and into the water.


	7. Chapter 7 - A Symbol of Heartbreak

**XXI**

"It is an honour, my queen, to have you at my son's wedding. I hope you like ships."

"Believe me," said Regina with a polite smile, as King Christian escorted her down the stairs. "The pleasure is mine. I could barely believe the news. A mystery bride who saved the prince from a shipwreck? I _had_ to see it for myself."

"As did I," said King Christian with a light smile. "I've spoken to her myself, and yet I still don't quite believe my eyes."

Regina pretended to laugh with him. Christian was a weak king. Simple, but harmless. Small wonder the Sea Witch had managed to wrap her tentacles around his son, even under such strange circumstances.

Along the corridor, they stepped out into the cool evening air and the salty smell of the sea, over which the sun was hanging low. It was almost time.

Down the stone steps stood the docks, where the wedding ship waited, last-minute touches being added to its simple decorations. No doubt the prince and his witch were getting ready in their respective cabins.

"Charming," said Regina, surveying the boat as they descended the steps. "I take it we'll be going out to sea?"

"Oh, yes," said the king. "If that pleases you, my queen."

Regina nodded in approval. Although wishing it would make things run more smoothly, should Rumplestiltskin decide to crash the wedding, she was not fool enough to believe a bit of water would stand in his way. Nonetheless, she smirked at the thought of the Dark One swimming after the ship, or riding on the back of a whale.

 _Perhaps a shark will ambush him before he catches up._

As they reached the wooden deck of the docks, she noticed something behind one of the wooden pillars. A mess of red hair – Regina's eyes lit up.

They walked past the girl, leaned against the wooden pole and staring hard at the ship through glistening eyes. She didn't look their way, nor did Christian seem to notice her, he was so focused on the ship.

"I shall have to check on the preparations before the rest of my guests arrive, my queen. It shouldn't be too long now."

"Not to worry," she said with a grin. "Not to worry at all. You go on ahead – of course, everything must be _perfect_. I'll just … admire the view."

Christian nodded to her, and boarded the ship. The moment she heard him speaking to one of his servants, Regina turned on the spot to face the girl.

 _Red hair, miserable expression, not much else to do. That must be her._

The boards creaked as she sauntered over. The girl's eyes met hers. A beautiful blue brought out by her simple blue dress, yet also pink enough from tears to match her fiery hair.

Wiping her eyes, the girl curtsied silently as Regina approached.

 _You'd better not run out of tears._

"Oh, don't cry, dear," she said sweetly. "There are plenty more fish in the sea."

The girl didn't answer, but looked affronted.

"I just guessed you must have feelings for the groom. There's one like you at every wedding, in my experience. All except my own, of course…"

Listening with interest, Ariel still said nothing.

"Nothing to say?" Regina said sternly. "It's _rude_ not to answer a queen."

The girl instantly tried to mime that she had no voice, and the queen smiled. Regina knew why she wasn't speaking, but simply couldn't resist.

"Relax, child. I never was a fan of girls who talked too much anyway. Sometimes it is better to say nothing at all. But you can still nod, yes? Good," she said as Ariel nodded. "So, am I right in assuming you love the prince?"

The mermaid shifted her feet and hesitated, then nodded.

"In that case," said Regina, putting her arm around her, "shouldn't you be glad that he's happy? That he's found his true love?"

Another hesitation, and another reluctant nod.

"Exactly," said Regina, steering Ariel into a slow walk down the docks. Behind them, guests were making their way down the steps and marvelling at the ship. "A strange girl with nothing - why else would he marry her but for love? Whatever his reasoning, whatever he told you, the prince is getting married because he is _in love_. And love is a powerful thing, more precious than any treasure."

Another tear rolled down Ariel's cheek, a precious tear which was instantly wiped away. Regina rolled her eyes when she wasn't looking, and flashed a smile at the people walking past.

"So, in celebration of love, I hope you're planning to come aboard. Maybe by attending his wedding, you would understand and be able to move on from him for good."

Ariel shook her head, and they reached the end of the docks. As more and more people walked past and boarded the ship in excitement, Regina realised she was short on time.

"Oh, I _have_ to insist you come. Don't worry, dear, I'll be right beside you the entire time. I'm sure you'll feel better once you see how happy they are."

The mermaid still looked unconvinced, but an idea struck Regina, and she put on a face of concern.

"Unless … they're not happy together. Unless _something_ might hold the prince back. Or should I say some _one_ …"

Those blue and pink eyes widened, and Regina went on.

"If your feelings are shared by the prince," she murmured, "I'm sure, in the moment, he wouldn't be able to say _I do_ if he had seen you. If there's anything to test his love for his bride, your attendance at his wedding should do it. Before _I_ was married, there was someone else – someone who _could_ have been the one for me. And sometimes I think, if he had been at my wedding, I might not have gone through with it – not even for the king. But that man wasn't there … so we'll never know. But _you_ still have a chance to know … for now. Because once that ship sails…"

Regina let go of her, and stepped back to look at her expectantly. Her words had caught the girl's interest, and she was considering them carefully. Still, the queen braced herself in case she had to use _other_ methods of making the girl board the ship.

But at last, Ariel nodded in silent agreement. She bravely tried to return Regina's smile.

"Go on, then. I'll be right there, I just need a minute."

As the redhead hurried up the gangplank with the last of the wedding party, Regina smiled triumphantly to herself. Like hell would the prince change his mind, Ursula had such a tight grip on him. There was no way the little mermaid would get her love now.

 _So, I may as well put her out of her misery, like a dying fish out of water._

Regina held out her hand. In a puff of smoke, the black scaled bag appeared and weighed it down. Holding out her other hand, something else appeared in it.

"A symbol of my heartbreak," she muttered, holding the ring up to her eyes. Daniel's ring.

 _Don't worry, Daniel. Hopefully, this plate should do a better job than that idiot doctor did._

Slipping the engagement ring onto her finger, Regina took one look around the empty docks. No Rumple to be seen. As she stepped carefully up the gangplank, she gripped the bag tightly by her side, hopeful that by the time she left this ship, she would have something more precious than any treasure.

 **XXII**

 _What a lovely bride._

Ursula couldn't help but feel smug as she stood in her cabin in her white wedding dress. Sounds of seagulls and the waves washing on the shore faded away when the ship moved out from the harbour, heading out to sea for the ceremony to begin. Not long now until this whole thing was over with.

It was comical to look in the mirror, where she had neither a wedding dress nor a pair of legs, but instead her usual fishtail. Her reflection seemed to just float there, unable to stand and yet somehow staying upright.

Legs or no legs, Ursula knew that she looked divine. She had always known it, really, despite those who called Ariel the fairest in the sea.

 _Just because of your voice. Well now_ I _have it, Ariel, and what do you have left?_

Legs. Something Ursula was long since able to give to herself.

She walked right up to the mirror and leaned in, looking closely at her face. Her eyes slid back down to the shell pendant as it swung like a pendulum. Time was ticking, each second slipping away until she would walk out onto the deck of the ship.

Ursula straightened up, and the pendant rested once more on her breast. Each time she looked at the golden shell, she remembered the man who had given it to her.

"So sorry, Rumple," she said, almost as if expecting him to be watching through her mirror. "I'm sorry things aren't working to your design."

But that's what happens when the Queen outsmarts someone. Their plans unravel, and they are left with nothing. Not even the ability to hurt Ursula, as she kept reminding herself, now she had struck her newest deal.

And Ursula would ensure that Regina kept her promise too, if she hoped to keep her old boyfriend when he returned. Ursula couldn't imagine what sort of man would love the Evil Queen, and if such a man should be brought back from the grave – but who cared, as long as the Sea Witch would remain undisturbed thereafter?

She took a moment to laugh at the queen and the imp, in their tiresome bids to get back their true loves – and then the redhead, whom Ursula had seen crying her eyes out earlier that day. At least _she_ had no such weakness as love to hold her back. Instead she had only power – perhaps more power even than the Dark One, now that he had foolishly given her the necklace.

 _And soon, the ocean will be mine._

 **XXIII**

The bell clanged as the door to Mr Gold's shop opened. Looking up from his polishing, he saw Regina march up to the counter.

"Ah," he said with a smirk, registering the sullen look on her face. "Of all people to show up now. I'm afraid you've just missed Dr Whale, Madame Mayor."

Regina glared at him.

"I have no interest in speaking to him," she said bitterly.

"I wonder, what _are_ you interested in these days?" said Gold. "The last time we spoke, you demanded I give you that book to get your son back. But since then, I hear you've given up both him _and_ magic."

"Well, I had to use magic today," she said, looking down at the counter. "To get rid of Daniel."

"Yes, I heard he wasn't quite himself. After that procedure, even the doctor needed some help pulling himself together."

"You bastard," Regina snarled, fixing him with her gaze again. "I realised something today. _That's_ why you didn't want me to bring him back before. With him around, I wouldn't have cast the curse."

"How perceptive," said Gold smoothly. "Well, dearie, you're more than welcome to try again."

"I can't," she said shakily. "And you know it. I don't have that stupid plate of eels, or Daniel's ring. I used it to get the apple."

"Oh, dear." Gold couldn't help but laugh. "You paid a steeper price than I thought, dearie."

"I didn't think I'd get another chance to use it. Keeping Henry was more important."

"Yes, I can see that. Life is full of tough choices, isn't it? And to think how that mermaid suffered – for nothing."

"So what?" snapped Regina. "That wasn't _my_ fault. It was yours, and that Sea Witch's."

"Oh really?" said Gold coolly. " _None_ of it was your fault? Forgive me, Your Highness, but I seem to recall you having _some_ involvement in that whole affair."

"She was heartbroken anyway, because of _your_ plan-"

"Which _I_ only made because of what _you_ did to Belle." Gold pointed a finger at her, eyes narrowed. He could feel the anger building inside him again. "Now leave."

Regina leaned forward, staring into Gold's eyes.

"With pleasure. Just remember – I may have taken your Belle away, but now we're even on that part."

She turned and headed for the door.

"Well, dearie, I wouldn't go as far as to say _that_ ," he said as she opened it. "But whatever helps you sleep at night."

The door closed behind Regina, ringing the bell as it did. The thought of Ursula sprang to mind, and Gold wondered where she was, and if she planned on visiting Storybrooke. After all, he would enjoy killing her one day – ideally without Belle finding out. A simple task, as long as no one saw the Sea Witch first.

Hopefully, she would appear before he finally left town.

 _And then you'll pay._


	8. Chapter 8 - A Ship at Sunset

**XXIV**

The sun was about the set on the ocean as the ceremony began. Stood on deck among the other wedding guests, Ariel watched as Eric and his bride made their way down the aisle together, both staring resolutely forward until they stopped at the altar.

Whoever she was, Vanessa looked beautiful in her white wedding dress. It flowed out in a long train behind her, which was carried by two girls whom Ariel did not envy at all. At this point, it was all she could do to stay still rather than dive overboard.

Beside her, the Queen also stared at the couple, though every now and then she gave a sideways glance to Ariel. She had no idea why this woman was trying to be helpful, even willing to persuade her to ruin Eric's wedding, but Ariel was grateful for her concern.

"Dearly beloved," said the rather excited minister, and the wedding began.

The _I do_ s approached faster than expected, all the while Ariel stood as tall as she could, hoping Eric would notice her. Maybe her hair would stand out in the crowd or something, maybe Eric would look their way and see her, stood near the front, before he made his decision.

Ariel had no tears now. After Eric had told her the news, how determined he seemed to be to marry the mystery woman, Ariel had thought all hope was lost. Eric had made his choice, so it seemed.

But the Queen had made Ariel realise that hope was not lost yet. Eric's decision had not yet been made. It was to be made here, on this ship, at sunset. In front of everyone.

"Do you, Eric," said the minister, and Ariel's heart raced, "take Vanessa to be your lawfully wedded wife, for as long as you both shall live?"

Eric looked down at his bride for a moment – a long moment. Ariel was sure he could see her, in the corner of his eye at least. She stood still as a statue, her breath caught in her throat, waiting for him to glance her way, to shake his head and say _no_.

But the prince stared at his bride, his eyes unmoving, almost as if he were in some sort of trance. Taking a deep breath as if to force the words out, he said, "I do."

Ariel's breath left her in a silent cry, and her heart sank. She shook her head, and her lips said, "No."

The Queen fidgeted beside her, probably discomforted that her prediction had not come true, but Ariel did not care. She was wrong. She shouldn't have come aboard, just for the added misery of watching.

"And do you, Vanessa," began the minister, as he, the altar, the bride and the groom all became a blur through her tears. She shut her eyes tight and bowed her head, breathing deep to try and make the pain go away.

As a tear rolled to the end of her nose, someone brushed aside the hair that had fallen over her face.

"It's alright, dear," whispered the Queen. "Everything will be alright. All of your pain will be gone, soon. Soon, all of this will go away."

 _What do you mean?_

Ariel opened her eyes, and the tear fell from her nose.

She had barely noticed the stone circle at her chest before her tear landed on it. Eyes widening, Ariel looked at the Queen, who stared at the plate in her hand with a look of triumph.

"At last," she said, holding the object close and staring at it greedily, almost madly, as though it were made of diamond. "And here I thought you were going to run dry before it was time," she added, trying not to drop it as she carefully removed a golden ring from her finger.

The Queen had not bothered to keep her voice low, and everyone else was now silent and watching her. Those stood closest to them backed away, looking nervously at the plate with the two eels engraved upon it.

As though the plate were made of glass, the tear was not absorbed into it; it rolled around of its own accord until it reached the white eye of one of the eels engraved upon it. Ariel almost tried to ask what was happening, then simply watched in horror as the Queen placed the ring around the other eel's eye.

A humming sound came almost instantly from the object, a humming which grew louder as it seemed to shake in the Queen's hand. Unable to keep hold of it, she dropped it and gasped. But the plate landed perfectly flat on the deck with a loud _thud_ , the ring still sat on top of one of the eels, whose eyes looked whiter than they had before.

With a silent gasp, Ariel backed away as each eel, spiralled around the other, began to move. The lines engraved into the stone shifted, the hole in the centre of the spiral widened, and the heads slipped out from under the ring and tear and slithered to the very edge of the plate.

Several people screamed at what happened next: by some magic, each head seemed to come _out_ of the stone. Shining and ghostly, the heads of the grey moray eels grew to life size as they squeezed out of the edge of the object. As their tails continued to snake round and round in circles towards the edge, so did the semi-transparent eels grow and wriggle out onto the deck like a pair of snakes.

Ariel's back hit the wall on the edge of the ship, unable to take her eyes off the creatures even as they became fully formed. Between them, the stone plate was now blank, except for the ring and tear sat on it. In their real form, everyone could now see that each of the eels had a blank, staring white eye, and one yellow eye.

"No need to worry, Ariel," called the Queen across the ship. "It'll be quick … I think."

Then the creatures rounded on Ariel, the pupils of their yellow eyes fixed on her, and their jaws opened, almost as if to grin.

"So _that's_ your name. Ariel. That's kind of pretty."

Eric had appeared beside her, ready to defend her from the menacing spirits. They slithered slowly and silently towards them, as quiet, ghostly and staring as death, and as certain in their approach. They wanted her.

Ariel's eyes found his. The man who had said _I do_ only moments ago. And now, when everyone else had run as far from Ariel as they could, here he was. Why?

"Eric, what are you doing?" the King yelled, stepping forward.

"Eric! Get away from her!" shouted Vanessa. At the sound of the oddly familiar voice, Ariel looked over to see the bride hurrying past the king.

"Better her than you, dearie," came a voice Ariel definitely recognised. Before her eyes, Vanessa stopped still as if frozen on the spot. "Because the wedding's off."

A scaled hand outstretched towards Vanessa, Rumplestiltskin stood at the other end of the aisle, half-disguised beneath a hood.

"I suppose I should have warned you," he laughed maniacally. "No one breaks deals with me."

With a flick of his wrist, Vanessa was thrown backwards into the King, the both of them falling to the deck. At the same time, by some magic, the bride's necklace was cut from her neck and thrown into the air.

In one long moment, Ariel recognised the golden nautilus shell, turned red by the sunset that had now painted the ocean and the sky with fire.

 _My voice!_

The shell fell to the deck and was shattered into pieces. From within appeared the same pulsating golden light that Ariel had seen before, accompanied by the same song she had been forced to sing as her voice was plucked from her throat.

People gasped as the voice floated through the air, singing the same melody as before, heading towards Ariel. Eric held her close, as if scared that it would take her, but the light flew to her and slipped into her mouth. And, all of a sudden, she was singing. Her voice rang from her throat like the chime of a bell, and once more her ocean-blue eyes met with Eric's sky-blue eyes.

"It – it was you," he gasped. "It was you all the time."

"Eric, I wanted to tell you…"

Before she could say another word, Ariel's knees gave away beneath her. She grabbed hold of Eric to break her fall, just as she had done on the beach. Something slapped hard onto the deck, and she looked down to see green fins protruding from her dress.

Her legs gone, she fell down onto the deck.

"Wh-what?"

Someone was laughing in the background. A woman with a deep voice.

"You're too late!" she cackled. "You're too late!"

It was Vanessa, speaking in what must have been her own voice.

Pushing herself up onto her elbow, Ariel looked up. To her horror, the ghostly moray eels had reached her, each of their white eyes reflecting her face, their yellow eyes staring hungrily at her.

"Ariel!" shouted Eric. He grabbed at them, but his hands went straight through, as if they were made of smoke. Ariel tried, but was also unable to touch them.

And yet, when they began to slither around her, they were as strong as steel chains. Powerless to run away, Ariel tried desperately to pull at the creatures which wrapped themselves around her like tentacles.

Eric looked over at the Queen.

"What have you done?" he shouted.

The Queen raised an eyebrow.

" _This_ is your doing, every bit as much as mine. You made your choice, and your choice has killed her."

"What? What do you mean? Answer me!"

"You broke her heart!" she said. "And now that broken heart is _mine_."

Their bodies tightly gripped around Ariel's body, one white eye was now staring at Eric, the other at the Queen. Ariel, all the while, was growing fainter and fainter. It was like being pulled into a deep sleep – a sleep that was getting harder and harder to fight off.

"Not quite, dearie," giggled Rumplestiltskin, whose hood was down to fully reveal his tangled hair and scaled face. "Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but it looks like this little mermaid is back with her twoo love."

"That doesn't matter now," said Vanessa with an awful grin. "It's already started. You've lost, Rumple."

Ariel fell onto her back, unable even to lift her head. She could feel her strength leaving her by the second, pulling her to sleep.

" _You_ did this?" spat the King, rounding on Vanessa. "You and the Queen? To think that I-"

"Oh, shut up, Daddy-In-Law," said Vanessa.

Ariel could no longer fight it. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes, was a long, dark octopus tentacle reaching out from under the bride's dress, wrapping itself around the King's neck, and squeezing it with a quick _snap_.

 **XXV**

"No! Father!" Eric screamed, as the King crumpled and fell to the deck. Eric was halfway to Vanessa when he stopped, watching in fear as more dark tentacles tore their way out of his bride's dress until it lay in tatters around her.

He had almost forgotten about his other wedding guests until they gasped at the creature.

"What are you?" he yelled.

"She's fish bait now," said the scaled man, the one she had called Rumple. He held out a hand and, at the same time, Vanessa started to make strangled cries, as if she were being choked to death. Her tentacles writhed around, quickly restrained by whatever magical force came from the man's other hand.

Eric ran over to his father and dropped down beside him, ignoring the struggling tentacles that threatened to break his neck too.

"Father," he said weakly. He shook the man's lifeless body, checked for breathing, listened for a heartbeat. There was nothing. His father was dead.

"You might want to attend to your little friend, dearie," said the man in a cruelly gleeful voice. As he slowly choked the life from Vanessa, the Queen ignored all of them, looking only at Ariel.

She was lying on the deck, her eyes closed. And one of those eels was still staring at Eric. His father was gone, but for Ariel there might still be hope.

 _Please don't be dead._

He hurried over and dropped to his knees beside her.

"Ariel!" he shouted, ignoring the intangible eels and grabbing her shoulders. "Ariel!"

Lifting her up by the shoulders, he slipped a hand through her thick red hair and gently held up her head.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Please come back. I made a mistake. I didn't know you would…"

She did nothing. She only lay there in his arms, dying of a broken heart.

"There's nothing you can do now, fish boy," said the Queen. "She's gone."

Eric shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Ariel," he said, his voice breaking as his eyes welled up with tears. "I should have chosen you." He closed his eyes and breathed in. "I love you."

Eric leaned his head down. He didn't need to see for his lips to find hers. Eric kissed the girl the way he should have done from the beginning, from the moment she first fell into his arms. The way he should have done every single time she had made him smile. The way he should have done when he told her about Vanessa.

"What? No!"

The Queen's voice opened his eyes. To his surprise, the ghostly eels had disappeared. He looked around to see Rumple still strangling the almost lifeless Vanessa, and the Queen looking enraged at the stone plate, which was once more engraved with two eels spiralled around one another.

"Eric," said a familiar voice. The voice that had stuck in his memory ever since he woke up on that beach. But this time, it truly was the same voice.

He looked down at Ariel, who blinked her enormous, ocean-blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ariel," he gasped. Her hands reached around his neck, about to pull him into another kiss.

"You will be," snarled the Queen behind him.

The two of them looked over at Regina, and the ball of fire in her hand.

"I don't think he will, dearie," said Rumple.

The man let go of his magical grip on the octopus woman, and extended it instead towards the Queen, who froze on the spot as Vanessa had done earlier, completely unable to move or even speak.

Gathering her breath, Vanessa took her chance. She held out her hand, and the stone plate appeared in it. Regina's ring clattered to the deck where the plate had been before, and Ariel's tear sank into the wood. The witch pulled herself by her tentacles over the edge of the ship.

"So long, lover boy," she laughed, and dived into the water.

The Queen continued to glare at Ariel and Eric, the ball of fire gone from her frozen hand.

"I don't understand," said Eric. "Why did you help us, uh…"

"Rumplestiltskin," said the scaled man. Eric widened his eyes at the name. "It's not so much helping _you_ , Your Highness," he said, stepping close to Regina. "I just don't like those who double-cross me," he snarled in her ear.

"What happened to my legs?" said Ariel. "Why did you take them back?"

 _Take them back?_

"It was our agreement, dearie," said Rumplestiltskin gleefully, and Eric looked at Ariel in shock. "A voice for legs. It works the other way, as well. That shell was your contract. It breaks, the deal is undone, you get your voice back, and the transformation is reversed." He giggled madly. "I've no more use for it, anyway."

"You gave it to _her_." Eric stood up in outrage. "You gave it to that witch! You let me think she was the one who rescued me."

"And _you_ thought that was more important than twoo love."

Eric walked up to him, staring into his deep brown eyes. They stared back, unblinking, as if they were looking straight into his soul.

"Get off my ship," he said shakily. "And take her with you," he added, with a sideways glare at Regina.

Rumplestiltskin let out a small giggle.

"Gladly," he said with a bow. And then, both he and the Queen were gone. Even the ring disappeared from the floor.

Eric turned back to Ariel, who had pushed herself up against the wall.

"Ariel, what did he mean?" he said, taking her carefully around the waist and lifting her onto the wall. She drew in her green tail, as if to try and hide it. "What did he do to you?"

"He – he turned me into a human," she said. "But he said that all magic comes with a price. I had to give him my voice in return."

Eric sat down beside her, ignoring everyone else on the ship, and ran his hand through her hair.

"You did that … for me?"

Ariel hesitated.

"I wanted it anyway. I've wanted to be a human for a long time. I just didn't know it was possible. And then I saw you, and I-"

Eric pulled her in and kissed her again. With a soft moan, Ariel began to kiss back. As he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine they were sat on the beach, starting over as if none of this had ever happened.

"Ariel, I love you," he said again. "Whatever you are."

"I love you too, Eric," she said. "But I can't be with you like this." She slapped her fins once on the deck. "As long as I'm like this, I'll never be a part of your world. I need to find another way."

"No," said Eric. "You don't need to. We'll work something out, you can live with me as a mermaid, we can…"

He stopped at the look on Ariel's face. She was right, and he knew it really.

"I almost lost you once," he said, taking her hand in his. "I don't want to lose you again."

"You won't," she said. "I know I can be human again. And I won't stop until I am. And then I'll come back."

She smiled reassuringly, and Eric nodded.

"I'm sorry about your father," she said.

"He was a good man. He would have wanted me to pick you, if we both knew…" Eric looked over at the King, still laid on the deck surrounded by his mournful subjects. It was like the wedding had turned into a funeral. "But don't be sorry, Ariel. It's my fault he's gone."

"It's not," said Ariel. "It's hers. She killed him."

"She wouldn't have gotten near him if I hadn't tried to marry her."

"She tricked you, Eric. She had my voice. That's not your fault."

Eric sighed, neither agreeing with her nor disagreeing.

"We need to get back to the castle," he said. "The kingdom has to know what's happened."

Ariel nodded.

"Then I have to go," she said.

Eric leaned in for one final kiss. The both of them lingered at the warm touch of their lips, wishing it could last for an eternity. But it ended, far too soon, and they parted again.

"I'm sorry, Ariel," he said once more.

She put on her brave, sweet smile.

"I'll be back. I promise."

Pulling off her dress, she shifted to the edge of the wall and dived. A blur of red and green, the little mermaid dropped headfirst into the sea below. Eric stared in awe at the last shimmer of her scales, the last flash of her fins, right before both disappeared beneath the waves in a splash of foamy seawater.

Eric closed his eyes, and breathed deeply as he gathered his strength. Standing up slowly, he looked back at his father and his guests, who were now gazing at him, waiting for him to speak.

"I need help, to take my father's body to my cabin," he said, and several volunteers stepped forward. "And ready about," he called to the crew. "We're going back to the castle."

 **XXVI**

Rumplestiltskin released Regina as soon as they appeared on the beach, the beach where he had taken the mermaid's voice to begin with.

" _Why_ did you do that?" she yelled, storming over to him, the ball of fire reappearing in her hand.

"It's for your own good, dearie," said Rumple. "And, I believe this is yours."

He tossed the ring to her, and it span in the air like a coin. Reaching out with her other hand, Regina caught it and clenched her fist around it.

"You'll pay for this, Rumple," she snarled, getting ready to throw her fireball.

"Ah ah ah," he said, waggling a finger. "Careful, dearie. You should consider yourself lucky I haven't turned you into a crab and thrown you into a pot."

"So, why haven't you?" she shouted. "Since you don't want me to have Daniel back, why don't you just kill me?"

Rumple didn't tell her his reasoning. Neither killing her, nor letting her be with her twoo love, would have her cast his curse.

"Be careful what you wish for, dearie," he said. "The prince may have his little mermaid now, but all is not lost. A mended heart can always be broken again. If I were you, I'd save them for a rainy day."

Regina's look of fury turned into a smirk.

"Oh, that is _just_ what I like to do," she said coolly.

Rumple giggled, for it was _he_ who would be saving Ariel for another time. Mermaids had the ability to cross realms without a magic bean. One day, she would need to follow her prince to the land without magic. And when she did, Rumple would make his deal with her again – only _this_ time, he would have _her_ find the Moranastice for him.

 _And with her heartbreak, or the prince's, or anyone's, I will bring Belle back._

But there was something that needed to be done first, before Regina would even _think_ about casting the Dark Curse.

"I wonder," he said, "if the Moranastice caused her any pain. She looked so sweet when she was dying. Almost like she was fast asleep. Dreaming of all her pains, all her regrets…"

The Queen's eyes widened, and her fireball disappeared.

"Yes," she said slowly, "she _did_ look like she was asleep."

"Just in case you needed inspiration," he said. And with one final giggle, the Dark One vanished from the beach.

 **XXVII**

The minute hand on the clock tower had almost reached the twelve when Belle opened the library. Sighing with relief that she was on time, she pulled open the doors and looked up and down the street outside. To her surprise, there were several excited people running down the road. Towards the beach.

Looking up the street, she noticed Archie coming her way with Pongo.

"Archie, what's going on?" she said. "Where is everyone going?"

"To the beach," he said, holding up his phone. "Word's going round that something – some _one_ – I mean … I think you'd better come and see."

Wondering what he was babbling about, Belle closed the library doors behind her, locked them, and followed Archie down the street.

More and more people were hurrying in the same direction, and Pongo was barking as the three of them ran towards the beach.

It was easy to find what they were looking for. A small crowd had gathered near the tide. Whatever they were looking at, they blocked it from Belle's view.

"Excuse me," she said, stepping carefully on the sand and slipping her way through the semi-circle of spectators.

"His name is Eric," came a voice. "He has dark hair, and he loves the sea and…"

It was a girl, sat on the sand. But not quite a _girl_. Belle's eyes were drawn instantly to the long, scaly, green tail resting on the wet sand, and the thick groove it had left leading down to the water. Then the mass of fiery red hair, tangled and wet from the sea. And then her large, ocean-blue eyes, staring desperately at the crowd, who simply stared back without trying to help her. Apparently, none of these people knew who this Eric was – and neither did Belle.

"Step back, please," she said. "Give her some space."

She stepped forward and crouched beside the mermaid.

"Hello," she said with a smile. "Uh, who are you?"

"My name is Ariel. I'm looking for someone. He should be here."

"Well, I'm sure we can find him for you, Ariel. Are you from our land?"

"No, but I lived there for a while," said Ariel. "Who are you?"

"My name is Belle. Welcome to Storybrooke, Ariel."


End file.
